Breaking News: USA Natives Alaina Kwan and Kylie Dickson Making the Move To Represent Belarus At Worlds

 It was announced recently that USA gymnasts Alaina Kwan and Kylie Dickson, who both train at McKayla Maroney's gym, All-Olympia, are getting the gears in motion to represent Belarus at Worlds. Now as a blogger, I feel compelled to share my thoughts on this subject. 

  From what I gathered on social media, the reason the girls are representing Belarus out of all the other countries is because their coaches have ties there, as well as Nellie Kim. To be perfectly honest this whole situation rubs me the wrong way. I have one question for the girls: Why run away to Belarus after your not famous after 5 minutes in the USA? I believe if the girls didnt go right away to represent Belarus, they would have had a strong chance next quad. These girls have good gymnastics, and are trained by world-class coaches. I think they should have stayed and tried to climb up the ladder in the United States. I also firmly believe that its unfair towards the Native Belarusians, because of the fact Dickson and Kwan have resources that they dont, such as better coaching and finer equipment. it gives them quite an advantage over the Native Belarusian girls. That means girls that are ACTUALLY BELARUSIAN, are robbed of their chances to go to Worlds. And what peeved me the most was how the girls came across in their interview. They acted like Belarus had no gymnasts at all!!!!!!! They do! They said that they would be their freaking saviors. You know girls, there was a point in time where the Belarusians were ahead of the Americans (This coming from me, an American) In the age of the beautiful Belarusian Swan, Svetlana Boginskaya. And they act like the Belarusian program needs saving. True, Belarus isnt as good as it used to be, but its really rude to act like the program is non-existent, and that the girls there dont work hard. But irregardless, I wish the girls luck at Worlds. 

  

Olympic Team Predictions!!!!!

So for the longest of times, I've been putting this subject off. But now, with Rio in roughly 10 months (HOLY CRAP RIGHT?!) I decided that I should pounce onto this subject right now. So without further ado, I present my dream team for Rio 2016!

Simone Biles

Everyone has Simone Biles on their team predictions. The only way Simone will not make this team is if she has an injury. She has been peaking beautifully. Thanks to her coach, Aimeee Boorman. Simone has won everything she has entered in the last two years. Classics, Nationals, Worlds, and is fully expected to win the Olympics. Simone  will be on that team! And will probably win everything except bars.

Aly Raisman

Aly Raisman is looking insanely strong! And, shes really smart. She proved it when she changed her routine around after she fell on her layout to split jump on night one of nationals. Aly will take the team captain role like she did in London, if she makes this team. And if Marta was truly smart, she would add her because she is epicly consistent and can gather the troops going into the last rotation, after all, she was trained by one of the best to do so: teammate Alicia Sacramone. 

Maggie Nichols

Before Nationals, Maggie wasnt really on my radar. But she came right out and was leading for Simone for the first three rotations of the competition. Thats when it really clicked to  me that she is a forced to be wreckoned with.

Kyla Ross

I know that people are saying Kyla's done, but I dont believe them. If she puts the double lay back into the bar routine instead of that double front, shes gonna be the best bar worker team USA has. Her beam was off the charts Day 2 and I personally believe that she can do it again! Kyla's consistency can be through the roof, and even though she may not get into the second all around slot, she will be there in team and individual event finals 

Ashton Locklear

Even though I said Kyla would a good bar worker, she wouldn't be considered as a specialist since she will probably vie for an AA spot in Qualifs. But Ashton is the definition of the specialist. She hones her focus on bars and excells at them. Im so excited because together on bars, Ashton and Kyla will bring in huge scores.

Gymnasts That Impressed Me at Nationals

I had the huge honor of witnessing the P&G Nationals in person this year. I loved seeing all the leotards sparkle under the lights this year, seeing double tucks and double layouts being done right in front of me. It was amazing. Some of the gymnasts stood out though.

1. Simone Biles- You guys should've been expecting this. Simone ALWAYS stands out. The thing that amazed me is that she won by 5+ points even after she fell on her floor on Night #1. This truly proves that Simone can come back like that. She proceeded to stick all four vaults she performed at P&Gs, leaving co-competitor MyKayla Skinner, in the dust. Simone was on fire after that mistake, she wasn't going to let one measly fall shake her game

2. Laurie Hernandez- Laurie was out last year with an injury, and watched from the stands as her teammate Jazzy Foberg won the 2014 Junior Championships. She was happy for her teammate, of course. But she wanted to win the next one, and she did with attitude on floor, huge vaults, high flying releases on bars, and technical precision on beam. Now I had met Laurie, and she is perhaps the sweetest girl ever. Not to mention her leo. GORGEOUSNESS.

3. Aly Raisman- Aly was amazing at Nationals. She did fall on her layout to split leap series on beam, but she recovered on the rest of the events and ended up winning the floor title because of Simone's fall. But, she deserved it because of her consistency on the event during both nights, and I couldn't have been a prouder Superfan.

4. Grace Quinn- We all know that Classics was rocky, but for this particular girl, all four events were. SHE struggled whether it be an out of bounds on floor or a fall off the beam. She did not have the best meet. But Grace didnt let it defeat her. She marched into the gym the very next day, trained for all of the 3 weeks she had and didnt have a fall. She had bobbles, but no falls this time. I was so proud of Grace because she didnt let a bad competition get the best of her. GO GRACE.

5. Maggie Nichols- This girl wasnt on my radar till Nationals. But I had a front row seat to her awesomeness. She amazed me when she led the way AHEAD OF SIMONE for the first three rotations of the competition. She then proceeded to take second place, it was true amazingness!!!!!! 

6. Abigail Walker- This little girl is new to the scene and she is ADORABLE. Although she isnt eligible for Rio this upcoming year, shes definitely a force for Tokyo in 2020. She is adorable. And fun fact: shes 14. Which, if you've seen this girl in action, you wouldn't believe that she is over 9! 

7. MyKayla Skinner- MyKayla Skinner has been getting a ton of hate on the Gymternet, unjustified hate!!! They're saying her form is god-awful, well people if you were doing a double twisting double layout, would your legs be pencil straight?! Anyway, MyKayla had a good meet, her bars were better than they usually are. She worked hard to have good form! Her form really is improving, but unfortunately, a haters gotta hate. I'm just sad it has to be on this amazing gymnast.

8. Deanne Soza- Any gym fan knows that Deanne recently had a rare and bad eye infection. This kept her from doing gymnastics and competing at major competitions. This was heartbreaking because Deanne was a truly good gymnast!! She was sidelined. But her eye got better and she was then back in the gym! She competed at Nationals, making it her second meet back. Even though she had some iffyness, I was proud of Deanne because she got back up there and performed to the best of her abiities. And who just comes back perfect from an injury/setback? I think Deanne did just fine.

9. Kyla Ross- Kyla had a rough championships, she didnt place in the all around top ten, unfortunately. But Marta's unrelenting faith in her got her onto the National Team. Kyla did fall on her double front dismount off bars (After a beautifully hit Bhardwaj). The whole audience gasped. But she made up for it on the beam with a perfect routine, this made the audience gasp even louder than when she fell! We all knew Kyla was consistent and could hit it out of the ballpark, but she came back after a major fall and amazed us all, including, the selection panel, proving to them "Hey, I'm still in the mix, dont count me out just yet"

10.  Jazzy Foberg- Unless you either arent  a gym fan, or have been under a rock for the last year. Jazzy Foberg won the National Championships last year. She had the pressures of having her teammate back this year. Nevertheless, Jazzy had a remarkable performance and was racing neck and neck with her teammate, Laurie Hernandez. But after stepping out of bounds three times, which proved to be costly, the title went to Laurie, with Jazzy nipping at her heels in second. Which meant that MG Elite went one and two!!!

11. Lauren Navarro- Lauren Navarro impressed me at Nationals, she wasnt one of the frontrunners, but she had very nice routines with a lot of attitude

12.  Ragan Smith- Ragan has been in the junior scenes since she became a junior! She is known to be a little firecracker on the floor! She dances, leaps, and tumbles across the floor like a firecracker! Her tumbling is high difficulty, and the whole Gymternet, even the Russian stans, love her. Some are saying that she isnt ready for Rio because she turns senior the year of the Games, but Kyla Ross turned senior the year of London and she rocked it like a Superstar! But I do agree with them on some level, if Ragan doesn't make the 2016 team, she will be there in 2020 as a team captain! 

13. Sydney Johnson Scarpf- Sydney, most known for her floor and considered to be a specialist proved she could do AA and do it well. She did have a mistake, but she got right back up and finished. And her floor, as per use, was brilliant. 

14. Bailie Key- Bailie won the junior title in 2013, but 2014, just like her runner up, Laurie Hernandez, was injured last year. But when she was all healed, she was a senior gymnast! At her first Nationals, Bailie came out in a unique leotard and showed us that she was still here. I was proud of Bailie, she certainly came back strong!

15. Morgan Hurd- Morgan has always been a favorite of mine. She has a lot of style on all of the events and makes me happy to be a fan! I fully expect her to make the 2020 team!!!!!!

So those are the 15 gymansts who impressed me at Nationals and who I hope to see in years to come!

    

Countries That Were Bigger In Gymnastics Earlier Than They Are Now

We all know that there are the countries we know about like USA, Russia, Great Britain or Romania. But what about those countries we never talk about like Ukraine? Well, let me tell you something fans, once upon a time, they were a big name in the 1990s. I have been watching gymnastics from the 1990s-2000s, and there are some countries in that era that we dont talk about that were big back then. 

Ukraine- As you have read this, you are probably like: Ukraine has a gymnastics program? And let me respond, yes they do. They do have a gymnastics program. They were SUPER big in the years leading up to the 96 Games, they were actually in the big four. Thats right, they were in a group that is practically unbreakable in this era of gymnastics. They even contended for the gold medals in the team competitions. You always saw them fighting for a podium spot in every aspect. Team, All-Around, Vault, Bars, Beam, Floor you name it. Ukraine was there. Their peak came in 1996 when a younggirl  named Lilia Podkeyeva made the Ukrainian Olympic team. Lilia was known by then, she had won her fair share of titles, including the 1995 World Championships in the all around and vault. Lilia was a true all arounder. She did not have a weak event. She was good everywhere, from the power events like vault and floor, to the grace and artistry events like bars and beam. She coupled the grace and artistry with the power. What made Lilia so unique, and still does to this day, is that she did no back tumbling, it was all front. And she did it so well. In addition for winning the 1996 Olympic All-Around for her country, she won the floor finals. Lilia was amazing, and was one of my FAVORITE gymnasts.

France- We have seen France at the Olympics in 2012, but only in qualifying. But back in the 2004 Games, and well before that, France was a power. In 2004, Emilie Le Pennec won the uneven bars, and France made the team finals. I was fascinated by Le Pennec when she debuted her bars set and made history for her country. But unfortunately, just like Ukraine, France has lost its spark and power in the last couple of years.

Spain- Spain was also up there. Believe it or not, they once beat the USA, of course this was before the USA became what it is now, but I was still shocked as I watched the tri meet competition. I then realized that Spain, once upon a time, was a significant force.

Even though there are more less known countries, these were the most surprising I could find. As I go back in the years of gymanstics, I will modify this post. But for now, here is my first post for awhile!!!!

Judging Her Gymnastics: Aliya Mustafina

    So, as we have a study hall in 1st period, and I have no homework or anything, I have decided to do a Judging Her Gymnasts on Russian Diva, Aliya Mustafina

Vault:

Even though Mustafina only competes a Yurchenko Double, she does it beautifully. She can absolutely nail it. Even though the twisting form is not perfect, its getting better. Aliya can stick that vault 98% of the time (She did not in the Nanning Team Competition or The 2014 AA) But, my point is, that this, despite having an easier vault, is a good event. Its not her strongest, but its good.

Bars:

Aliya is the Olympic Champion on htis event, that should say it all. But in case it doesn't, let me break down the bar set for you: Perfect handstands, perfect releases, perfect transitions (Especially that Pak Salto). Team Russia can always count on Aliya to compete for them on the uneven bars.

Beam:

Aliya is the 2013 World Champion in this event. Just like bars, she can do brilliant connections and hard series. But, since 2013, Aliya has kind of declined on the event, wobbling on the easier skils on her routine like a side aerial.

Floor:

This is where Aliya can express her diva-ness. As we saw in London, her floor routine was full of expressive choreo to highight her attitude. And as of 2013, that choreography changed into a mature style to show off Aliya's maturity. 

   So here, are Aliya Mustafina's events.

Gymnast of the Day: Simone Biles

As I wait nervously for my English teacher to take a look at my rough draft of my research paper, I decided to calm myself by writing about what I love, gymnastics. So, lets do a Gymnast of the Day on 2x World All-Around Champion, Simone Biles. It is also important to note that Simone and her coach Aimee Boorman left Bannons Gymnastix in pursuit to  open their own gym, World Championship Centre. And, it was a great move for Simone, because thats how she won all her golds, and became known as $imoney.

   Simone Biles was raised by her grandparents, Nellie and Ronald. She has a few siblings, one of which is also a gymnast, Adria. Simone began her career in 2011, as a junior. At the American Classic, Simone placed third in the all around, and won vault and beam, she also placed 4th on the vault and the Uneven Bars. Now, she wasn't as lucky at the U.S Junior Classics, where she placed fifth on the balance beam and floor exercise. Simone then ended her season by tying for seventh place on the vault at Nationals. Even though she didn't look like it in 2011, later on, Simone would start becoming the girl we know her as now.

   Once again, the first meet of Simone's season, was the American Classic. She did much better at the 2012 American Classic than at the one in 2011. Here, she won the all-around for the junior session, she also won vault. She then tied second for floor, placed third on balance beam, and placed fourth on vault, meaning that she got two golds, one silver, and one bronze, in addition to placing on her worst event. This means, that Simone is truly on the rise. The next meet that our girl, Simone would compete at would be, once again, the Junior U.S Classics. But once again, she did better at that meet in 2012 then she did in 2011. She won the all around competition, and the vault. She placed second on floor, and unfortunately, 6th on the beam. After the buzz of her wins at the Classics, we saw Simone return to Visas. Here, she finished in the bronze medal position in the all-around, won vault, and finished 6th on all the remaining events. But she did make the Junior National Team

   Biles' senior debut came in 2013. Her first meet as a senior was with teammate Katelyn Ohashi at the American Cup. She and Katelyn were the replacements for Elizabeth Price and 2012 Olympian, Kyla Ross. Simone was looking good for the first two rotations, she was expected to win, but on beam, she fell on her back handspring back handspring layout series, and when Katelyn had a hit beam routine, it was looking bleak. But not impossible. But it became so when she stumbled back on her landing, ultimately giving the title to her teammate, Katelyn Ohashi. After her second place finish at the American Cup. Simone went on to compete at the Jesolo Trophy, where she won the vault, beam, floor, and all around competitions, also contributing towards the team's first place finish. After this, Simone went to Germany to compete in a tri meet with USA, Germany, and Romania. Once again, the U.S won the team gold, and Simone swept the titles on vault,, balance beam, and floor. But she tied for second in the all around behind Kyla Ross due to a fall on the bars. Next, Biles competed at the 2013 US Classic, where she performed poorly. She fell several times, and scratched vault after hurting her ankle on floor. Next, was the Nationals. Simone won the all-around here, as we are all aware. She also won silver on vault, bars, beam, and floor. Simone of course, made the World Team for USA. She qualified into first for the all-around final, second for the vault,  sixth for the uneven bars finals, fifth to the balance beam finals, and first to the floor. Yes people, thats right, she made all five finals, becoming the first woman to do so since Svetlana Khorkina, and the first American woman since Shannon Miller. She won the gold medal in the all-around, finishing nearly a point ahead of her teammate and silver medalist, Kyla Ross. Next was vault, where she came in second place, behind teammate and world-renowned vaulter, McKayla Maroney. Next was bars, and the only event Simone didn't medal in, but came in fourth. In beam, she won bronze behind World Champion, Aliya Mustafina, and her teammate Kyla Ross, and finally, she picked up another gold medal on floor, making her final medal count, two golds, one silver, one bronze. Lets just assume that Simone left those World Championships VERY happy. 

   People had thought Simone had had all the success one could have in 2013. But that is not true! Simone was supposed to  compete at the 2014 American Cup, on account of wanting to rest up a shoulder injury. So, Simone skipped that one. After missing out on the American Cup, Simone went to the Pac RIms with the US team, but that pesky shoulder injury stopped her from competing there as well. So, the first few weeks of the competitive season weren't going so well for Simone. Her first competition back was the US Classic (Finally!!!) She ended up defeating 2013 US Classic Champion, Kyla Ross, and by a large margin.  She also won vault, beam (Tied with Kyla) and floor. After Classics, it was  Nationals for Simone, where she won the all-around title once again, defending her title from the year before, she won it by nearly four points over silver medalist, Kyla Ross. She also won titles on vault and floor, tied with Alyssa Bauuman for the silver medal on beam, and placed fourth on bars. 

 

 Next was the 2014 World Championship. Simone qualified into every event final but the uneven bars. First was the alll-around, where she won. Even though her performance was great in Nanning, as expected, what was even greater was when Simone was chased off the medal podium by a bee! Simone was proudly accepting her medal and boquet, but when she picked up the boquet, there was a bee!! Simone started running around the podium, and dropped her flowers! Teammate and bronze medalist in the all-around, Kyla Ross, joined in. And Larisa Iordache, the silver medalist from Romania, didn't even flinch. Many are still watching it today, 5 months later. Anyway, next for Simone,was the team competition, where she did every event but bars. Then,  was the vault, where she won the silver behind North Korea's Hong Un Jong (Even though many thought Jong didn't deserve it), and ahead of teammate MyKayla Skinner, who took the bronze. Next, was the beam. After watching her teammate Ashton Locklear compete in the bars finals, Simone was eager to get out there. Simone competed a stunning set, grabbing the gold medal, with China's Bai Yawen and Russia's Aliya Mustafina behind her. And finally for Simone, was the floor finals, where she defended her title from the year before, just like she did with the World All-Around Title.  So, Simone had even a better 2014, than 2013. And that is crazy

 Even though the 2015 season has barely started, I wanted to note that Simone dominated at the AT&T American Cup, winning by nearly 5 points ahead of copatriot MyKayla Skinner. She not only won the all-around, but won everything. Yes, that means she won the all-around, the vault, the bars, the beamm, and hte floor competitions. BAM! THERE IS NO BETTER WAY FOR SIMONE TO START HER 2015 SEASON. NO BETTER WAY! Seriously, I think the last 2 years have panned out well for Simone. 

   So, with Rio only a year away, things are looking good for Simone. I really want to see her winning golds in Rio. Good luck Simone, you're amazing! 

Juniors To Keep An Eye On: Naydenov's Jordan Chiles

In case you did not know this little fireball, you will after this post. Jordan trains and represents Naydenov, and does so well. At the young age of just 14, Jordan is a little fireball, having hard passes in her floor routines like a Double Arabian. On vault, she can get a great score, she can get high in the air. It's also to be noted that Jordan was the 2014 U.S Secret Classic Winner, despite a low-ish bars score. Jordyn even has some foward tumbling which reminds me of one of my personal heros in the sport, Ukraine's Lilia Podkeyeva, who was of course, a gymnast of power. Even though Jordan is not eligible for Rio in 2016, she is for 2020, and when I imagine her competing at the 2020 Trials, I imagine her either grabbing that first place spot, or making the team. So, guys, if you haven't been already, I would keep my eye on this dynamo from Naydenov.

Grading Claudia Fragapane's Performance At the American Cup

So, as I was watching the American Cup the other day, I was keeping my eye on British standout, Claudia Fragapane. And I did not like what I saw. I would give Claudia's performance an D- Because I was not impressed at all. Let me just give you a rundown of her routines

Vault- This was actually Claudia's best routine of the night, and it had bad leg form and a weird landing to it.

Bars: There were so many missed handstands, and am I the only one who adresses the leg split on her Pak? She also fell on her Piked Tkatchev, which as you know, never bodes well in any type of routine. She also piked her double layout dismount, and I seriously thought that the judges would classify that as a pike

Beam: While I was waiting for Claudia's routine to start, I read through the YouTube Comments, and one said "Oh God Take that Sheep Jump Out" And then I saw why, and I have to say I agree. It was a really bad sheep jump and I couldn't stress that enough.

Floor: Claudia's routine was really clunky, she even messed up on her famous back spin. And she only landed one tumbling pass, and even that one was a stumble.

     So, if you are a Claudia fan and are like cursing me right now, don't, because I'm grading them like I'm seeing them, and a D- Performance is how I saw Claudia in this years American Cup

Judging Her Gymnastics: Italy's Vanessa Ferrari

Vanessa Ferrari has been a big name in the gymnastics world ever since 2006 when she won the all-around gold, making history for Team Italy. So, with such a big name still competing, lets judge her gymnastics shall we?

What I Like: I love Vanessa's floor. She is so mature! It looked like in 2006, that was her peak. But its 8 years since then, and she's improving! Which you rarely see! Vanny is still improving, and thats what I love. When you compare now to 2006, she has so much more maturity. Its just gorgeous. Her beam and floor are gorgeous. ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS.

What I Don't Like: Even though she has gotten so much more mature over the years, I am still not the biggest fan of her bar work. They are clean, granted, but it kind of puts her at a deficit because they aren't as hard as Mustafina's or Jinnan's. Thats why she hasn't gotten a medal in the all-around because she scores low on bars when Mustafina and Jinnan get in the high 15s low to mid 16s.

   I love Vanny, and I am dreading the day when she will retire. 

Comparing Their Styles: Kyla Ross and Simone Biles

Even though both Kyla Ross and Simone Biles represent the United States of America, they can not be more different. 

Kyla- Kyla has that gorgeous international look: Clean lines, stellar toe point, all around impeccable form. Even though Kyla doesn't have a lot of difficulty, she can have almost a perfect ten in terms of execution. You rarely see Kyla have bent legs, and she always sticks that dismount whether it be the double layout off bars or the double tuck on beam. Even though she only does a Yurchenko Double on the vault, vault is considered one of her best apparatuses because she can land with minimal deductions. Kyla is known for the international look.

Simone-  Well I think Simone's stats prove it all: 1 time US Secret Classic Champion, 2 time National Champion (AA), 2 Time World All-Around Champion, Two time floor world champion, one time beam world champion, one time team world champion, and much much more. Simone is an athlete of absolute power. She has the hardest floor routine in the world, and even has a move named after her (Double layout with half twist) Simone can bring an Amanar to the table, a huge beam set, and a AMAZINGLY POWERFUL floor routine. Simone is known for chucking the biggest skills, and most of the time, does so successfully. We barely ever See Simone waver, thats what makes her so dominant

    So even though these two girls represent the same country, their gymnastics styles are TOTALLY DIFFERENT.

Gymnasts Who I am Excited For To See Contending For Rio

   Yes, Rio is almost a year away. And as we look onto the next Games, we say goodbye to London. And gymnasts like Jordyn Wieber unfortunately. But, as we say hello to the new Games, we have to say hello to some new gymnasts, we have to  do this every quad, but I want to talk about some contenders I am looking forward to seeing in the next year before Rio. Some of them are new, some of them are old, like Larisa Iordache or Aliya Mustafina.

1. Simone Biles

Simone Biles has been dominating since she stepped onto the floor as a senior gymnast in 2013. We won't see her burn out like Jordyn Wieber did in London, because Aimee has been pacing her so well. Simone will be in Rio, and she'll dominate there, just like she did in Antwerp and of course, Nanning. I am so eager to see what Simone does in Rio.

2. Larisa Iordache

Usually, an Olympics is a peak for a gymnast, and after they compete in the Olympics, they retire or start spiraling down. But, for Larisa, that was not the case. Since she was only a ripe 16 year old representing Romania in London, Larisa continued in 2013. And she did well, doing good at European championships, and then she went on to win the bronze on the floor, placing fourth in the all-around, and after an unfortunate fall in beam finals, landing 7th, but if she wouldn't have falled, she would have medaled, maybe even gold. Larisa then went on to Europeans 2014 winning gold with the team, bronze in the vault, silver on beam, and tying for gold on the floor. Bam! She then went onto worlds and got silver in the all-around and placed 4th with the team (I mentioned this because Larisa got the team from 7th to 4th, and carried the whole team on her back!) She did great and I am so excited to see what the world will hold for this girl. She can definitely make the Olympic Team.

3. Nia Dennis

Nia debuts as a senior this year, and I am excited to see her. I have been since Nationals when I saw her stick her Double Arabian, and most of her floor routine. I have Nia Fever and I am amped for her debut this year. She can actually fight with Simone and others for the all-around title

4. Kyla Ross

Kyla Ross has always been known for her perfect form, but has been trashed on for her lack of difficulty. But, last night I was watching Camp Videos, and Kyla said that SHE IS upgrading. If Kyla can upgrade, she can possibly make the second Olympics. For ages, I have been waiting for Kyla to upgrade. I cannot wait for the Italy meet, where Kyla said she wil debuting her upgrades.  I can't wait. When I heard that Kyla was upgrading, I fell out of my seat.

5. Huang Huidan

Despite the loss of her bars title in Nanning, Huang is amazing on the event. She is the definiton of the word uneven bars. Anyway, she can win an Olympic UB finals, and she can be a great addition to the team. True, all Chinese gymnasts are great bar workers, so you may think that Huang's work doesn't differentiate her. But I guarantee, it does. She does great on the connections. She FLOATS up to the bar. Its just gorgeous. Even though she isn't really spectacular anywhere else, she will make the team because she is one of the best bar workers in China.

6. Claudia Fragapane

At first I did not like Claudia because she had no type (Power, artistry) But as I watched this girl more and more, I fell in love with her. Her floor was upbeat and fun, her choreo amazing. Claudia can definitely make Great Britain's Olympic Team, and I would be devastated if I don't see her doing so. She can definitely bring in a great floor score for Team GB, and can also bring in solid scores on the other three events. I can't wait to see  what the coaches at Bristol have in store for this rising star.

7. Aliya Mustafina

Aliya has always been the gymnast everyone loves, including me. I love her because she has a great attitude and is a tough cookie. Aliya has gone through a lot in the last 2 or 3 years and I am glad to see her recovering. I think that the Russian Federation will be stupid not to let Musty on the Rio Team, they need her.  They need her amazing leadership and toughness, they need her bars, her beam, and her dramatic floor. They need Mustafina all-around and that should make her a shoo-in.

8.  Bailie Key

Bailie Key impressed me at the national camp a few weeks ago when she beat THE Simone Biles in the all-around verification. Simone did have falls on a few of her upgrades, but it still proved that Simone does have mistakes. I think its going to be a miniature war between the two, and I cannot be more excited! A Bailie vs. Simone showdown is what I've been waiting for since that camp. I think that Bailie can dominate, just like Simone has been doing. Let the Biles-Key showdown begin.

9. Aly Raisman

Aly Raisman, 2012 Team Captain of the Gold Winning Olympic Team, beam bronze medalist, and floor Olympic Champion is back. I fell in love with Aly's gymnastics in 2011 when she took over the leadership role for Team USA after Alicia Sacramone fell to injury. I then watched her compete at the Games, dominating once again, and then I really got to like Aly when she became a dancer on ABC's Dancing With the Stars. Aly is coming back at the Italy meet this year and is going to come back strong, and I am excited for that. Aly can definitely make the second Olympic Team, because she is a great team captain and has so much experience. She can definitely help the younger girls when they are going onto their last event. 

10. Laura Jurca

Just like Bailie Key, Laura made a huge splash on the junior scene. This little Romanian sweetheard turned senior this year, and I look forward to seeing her compete with the big dogs at Romanian Nationals, European Championships, and other big competitions. I am so excited for Laura, and I think she can definitely make the Romanian Olympic Team. 

11. Emily Gaskins

So, as dominant as the US Team is right now, one area that the rest of the world (Especially Russia and China) are beating them at, artistry. Even though we have girls like Kyla Ross, we don't really have any artistic girls on the senior scene, but that is all set to change in 2016 when Emily turns senior. As we saw at the 2014 Junior Nationals, Emily has a balletic style on floor that we never see from the American women. She can also do great bars and beam sets, on bars she excentuates every key detail. A lot of people on the Gymternet (Mostly Russian Stans) are trashing on the USA for their lack of dance, but just wait till Emily steps onto the stage, that'll show em.

12. Norah Flately

This little dynamo has had my attention for a while now. She comes from one of my favorite gyms, Chow's, the gym that produced Shawn Johnson and Gabby Douglas. What I love about Norah is her flexibility. Have you seen this girl do a needle on beam?! There's not a bend in her knee! She is also a power athlete but mixes it with the flexibility and precision needed for bars, which you can never find nowadays, like her copatriot Emily Gaskins mentioned above, she also turns senior in 2016. Norah is sometimes incosistent, but she has a year to get that down. She is also competing the Amanar vault, which is why I said she is incosistent (She fell on it at the 2014 Classic). But, once again, she has a year to get that huge vault down. 

13. Laurie Hernandez

Laurie is full of spunk, let me just tell you that. She is a spunky little fireball, and she just overcame an injury. Luckily she got a spot on the National Team after winning the junior competition at verification camp (In physical abilities). Laurie is another junior I've been keeping my eye on, and like Norah and Emily, turns senior just in time for the Games, and boy, am I excited for that!

14. McKayla Maroney

McKayla suffered an injury after the 2013 Worlds, where she successfully protected her World Vault Title from 2011. That took McKayla out of competition for the whole 2014 Season. But now that her Olympic teammates Aly and Gabby are back, Mac's more determined to get into the gym than ever. And I am excited to see that passion back. Mac wants an Olympic Vaulting gold and she's not giving up on the dream. You can pretty much guarantee that by Worlds this year, McKayla will be vaulting towards her 3rd world gold vaulting medal. 

15. Ruby Harrold

I have been a fan of Harrold's bars for a while now. From the Van Leeuren to the bail-out transition, I am a fan. She has just blown my mind with her latest bar set, and she can definitely contend for a world title if she gets more consistent, and I believe she can. An example of the incosistency is in the Worlds Team Final, when she had a big leg split on the Van Lueeren.

   So here are some of the gymnasts I am looking forward to seeing in Rio/Contending for Rio in the next couple of months. 

Looking At the Last Three Games: Remembering the Highlights

  As Rio gets closer and closer, we start to remember the past Games before. In this post, I will be analyzing the last three Games: 2004, 2008, and 2012

2004: Even though Athens was not the best competition for USA, It was for Romania. Romania dominated in Athens, Greece. Taking the team gold medal, and the beam and floor titles, going to their own Catalina Ponor. Even though the USA didn't have the success they wanted to, they had a huge success in the all-around, Carly Patterson won the all-around gold, becoming the queen of gymnastics, and starting a three-peat. Some other facts are that Monica Rosu of Romania won the vault, congratulations to Monica, and that France's Emilie Le Pennec won the bars competition, making history for France.

2008: USA didn't win as a team here either. They had falls in the last two rotations, and it was disastrous. But they still managed the silver. And I was super happy for Team China, not only winning their first ever team gold, but they won it on home turf. This was a great accomplishment for Team China. Another note was that Romania won their ninth team medal in a row. In the all-around, it was one-two for the USA, Nastia Liukin with the gold, and Shawn Johnson with the silver. It was so great to see Nastia finally regain her mojo, for Shawn had been beating her in competition after competition. I bars, China  had another gold medal, He Kexin, winning the gold because of her amazing bar set, Nastia Liukin winning the silver, and Yang Yilin winning yet another bronze. One of my favorite Finals was the beam. Shawn had just come off losing on the all-around, and this was her last shot. Thank goodness, because that fire made her become Olympic Champion on the event, with teammate Nastia behind her. And finally, in the floor finals, Romania's Sandra Izbasa won the gold with Shawn and Nastia coming behind her on the floor

2012: These were the most previous Olympic Games, as you know. There were so many great highlights. USA won their first gold since 1996, Canada made their first Team Final, and Great Britain did great in front of a home town crowd. Other highlights of the team final included Mac's perfect vault, Aly's amazing beam and floor sets, and Mustafina's amazing bar set in TFs. Ladies and gents, that's just the team final. After McKayla fell on her second vault, Sandra managed to get a gold, with Mac closely behind, and Maria Paseka in third. In bars, Aliya Mustafina rocked it, winning the title, defending champion He Kexin in second, and home girl Beth Tweddle winning the bronze with a dynamic set. In beam, it was Deng LinLin way in the front with teammate Sui Lu, the World champ from the year before in silverg, and Aly Raisman in bronze. In floor, Aly delivered a dynamic set and won it,, with Catalina Ponor in second and Aliya Mustafina in 3rd. Some notable moments are:

-Aliya Mustafina being the most decorated gymnast

- Aly Raisman winning three Olympic Medals

-Canada making it into their first Team Finals

-Catalina Ponor losing out on a medal, then winning one

-Aly Raisman losing out on a medal, then winning one 

And so many more. These last four games have really been some to remember, haven't they?

Larisa Iordache vs. Catalina Ponor

Even though Romanian Legend, Catalina Ponor's comeback is not official, many are comparing her to her Olympic teammate, Larisa Iordache. Catalina retired after London, but 16 year old (at the time) Larisa Iordache, kept on going. She had great individual success while Catalina was at home watching. And her success was multiplied by 2 in Nanning. Larisa had jumped up on top. Many started comparing Lari to 1976 Olympic Champion, Nadia Comeneci. All the gym fans have heard of Nadia. And, Larisa Iordache. When I heard that Catalina was possibly coming back, I started talking to people on Instagram, Tumblr, and Twitter. And many people were like me, freaking out. Everyone on the Gymteret knew, that if Catalina came back and tried to take titles on beam and floor (Which are Larisa's two best events) Larisa would give her a fight to the finish. More so on floor, probably, since Larisa does not have the best track record in Balance Beam Event Finals. But if the two girls were both representing Romania in the Finals, it would be a fight between the two. Once Cata announces her comeback, I will be blogging like crazy! And when she doesn't, I will be blogging like crazy, but less more enthusiastically. 

                                                            Vs.

What She Needs To Do To Go To Rio: Kyla Ross

Kyla has been a topic on this blog a lot lately. Kyla became an Olympian in 2012, as a first year senior, a great accomplishment in anyone's book. After winning the team gold, and standing on that podium, Kyla went to watch her teammates in the individual parts ot the Games, and she decided she wanted individual success at the Games. So she and her best friend McKayla Maroney continued on. Individually in 2013, Kyla won three silver medals in the AA, Bars, and Beam Competitions. This was a great way to prove that she wanted to succeed individually. In 2014, however, she was not as lucky. At Worlds, she won bronze in the All-Around, and she won gold in the team, and was a major part of it, but individually, she only won the bronze. 

   In order to make the Rio Team, Kyla NEEDS to upgrade. She can't get by on the routines she has now. Not with Simone Biles, Bailie Key, and a bunch of new seniors on the radar. She ABSOLUTELY ABSOLUTELY NEEDS to upgrade. I talked about her upgrades on "Questions on The Gymternet"  which I just recently published. The Upgrades I really want to see her do is the Amanar on vault, and upgrading from that double tuck on beam. Its time to rid that double tuck, and a bunch more upgrades. If Kyla wants to make the Team, and have Individual Olympic Success, she needs to upgrade. Amazing form isn't going to get her by this quad, it did last quad, but it won't this one.

What She Needs To Do To Go To Rio: Aliya Mustafina

   So, I wanted to talk Rio. So I decided to draw up a series of Posts: What She Needs To Do To Get To Rio. I am really excited about this series, and as I see new talent  arise, and if I come up with someone, I will do one of these posts. Why not kick off the post with Russian legend, Aliya Mustafina

   For years, Aliya has been on the gymnastics radar, she has been ever since she debuted as a senior in 2010 and dominated on the scene. Aliya has already became an Olympian, and has had mass success in London, winning two bronzes, a silver, and a gold. In London, many gym fans thought she would be a lock, and she still is. However, we have seen some noticeable change in Mustafina. The girl we thought was so indestructible, sort of self destructed in Antwerp. Only a few saw it, but we noticed Mustafina wasn't really herself, she would probably have taken the gold on the bars in Antwerp, but had some uncharacteristic mistakes. But she did win the title on beam, voiding those thoughts. But n Nanning a year later, it was definitely noticeable, when she barely got her team into the bronze medal slot, and individually, didn't medal in the all-around, or bars competitions, and managed to get bronze on beam, but missed an element, and was overjoyed when she got the floor bronze. But as we all know, bronze isn't classic Mustafina. She was undergoing some stress: She was going through coaching changes, losing her long time coach, Alexander Alexandrov, she also was carrying the whole Russian team on her back because her teammates from London, and some other veterans, were all injured, and finally, she was not feeling well. 

   What Aliya needs to do for the Olympics is she needs to learn not to let all the crap get to her. She has been doing that for a long time, I know, but because she is going through this triad of problems, its become a little overwhelming. Everything that's going on, Mustafina can't do much about it. She can't convince the Russian Delegation to bring Alexandrov back, she can't magically heal her teammates' injuries, and she can't snap her fingers and rid the sicknesses. I know Mustafina is the strong athlete we saw 4-5 years ago, and if she is like that, she can make the team. She just needs to learn how to manage this better, not to let all the crap get to her. 

Hot Topics Around the Gymternet: The Two Per Country Rule

The Two Per Country Rule has always been a problem, at least to the fans. In my opinion, it became a HUGE debate after London when Jordyn Wieber got x-ed out of the all-around. I read an article on Triple Twist, a well known gym blog, and decided to voice my opinion. If you are a long-time reader, you know one of my first articles was about the Two Per Rule. But I have changed a  lot since thin, and my writing has as well. So lets review it, shalll we?

     In my opinion, the Two Per Rule does more harm than Good. I honestly don't get why it exists. The FIG wants to see the top eight in event finals, and the top 24 in all-around, duke it out. But how can one see the top duke it out if some of the best aren't even there? I dont even think it was a true all-around in London, because Jordyn was not in it to win it. Supposedly, the Two Per rule gives lesser known countries the chance to compete in event finals/All-Around, but countries like Iceland or Spain or India rarely even qualify. And an all-around is much more fun when you have a stronger field. In my opinion,the FIG should rid this rule because of the fact that it makes the all-around a lot less fun. Strong countries like USA, Russia, Romania, China, and now, Great Britain have so many great athletes who have so much potential, but they get completely x-ed out if they don't have as great routines as their teammates. The whole thing is truly unfair. If someone has a petition going to outlaw the stupid rule, I'll sign it.. 

The Retired Girls- The Trailblazers

When we think about the retired athletes in gymnastics, girls that come to mind are Cheng Fei, Alicia Sacramone, Catalina Ponor (Although she may have a comeback in the works), Elizabeth Tweddle, and so many more. Here are some of the retired girls I most adore, along with some short Stats.

Alicia Sacramone

Country: USA

Years As Elite: 2003-2012 

Biggest Accomplishments: 2008 Olympic Medalist (Silver in team ), 2010 World Team Silver medalist, and vault champion.

Best Event: Vault. She can also put good scores in on floor, and can do a good beam set

Weak Event: Bars. We never really saw Alicia compete bars

Year Retired: 2012, right after Trials

Quick Notes: Alicia didn't have the best Olympics, she fell on beam and floor in team finals, and did not get gold on vault, this forced her into retirement, but she realized that wasn't helping anything, and that she wanted to end her career on a high note, so she came back, won the vault title in 2010, and she carried on to 2012, where she made it to the Trials Process but did not make the actual team 

Reason Of Retirement: Alicia realized that she ended her career on a high note, and she was sad that she did not make the London Team,but she loved that she had a Vault Title, and she wanted to leave it at that.

Her Legacy: Alicia is most known for the way she came back after her disappointing Olympics, and came back successfully! Alicia inspired many gymnasts to come back, like Shawn Johnson, Chellsie Memmel, and Nastia Liukin. She also inspired many young gymnasts out there, telling the

Cheng Fei

Country: China

Years As Elite: 2004-2012

Biggest Accomplishments: 2004 and 2008 Olympic Team Member, Gold with the 2008 Olympic Team, multiple word-stage vault gold medals, and a bronze in 2008). She got a vault named after her (Round-off half on, 1 1/2 twists off)

Best Event: Vault, can also do a great floor routine

Worst Event: Even though it isn't known, based on performance history, it seems like bars would  be Cheng's Worst Event

Year Retired: 2012, she sustained an injury, and was not able to make the team, she quit soon afterwards 

Quick Notes:  Fei has a vault named after her. She is considered one of the best Vaulters in history. Even though Cheng never had a gold medal at the Games, she has multiple World-Stage medals.

Reason of Retirement: Cheng sustained an injury to her Achille's Tendon in 2012, making it so that she couldn't contend for China's team, and she knew she could not hold out another cycle, so she retired, taking her many gold medals and her Olympic bronze with her. 

Her Legacy: Cheng proved that China can be powerful, and inspired many young Chinese gymnasts to try and be powerful.

Beth Tweddle

Country: Great Britain

Years As Elite: 2001-2012

Biggest Accomplishment: 2004, 2008, and 2012 Olympian, she won the bronze on bars in front of a home crowd In London 2012, as well as winning a plethora of golds on bars and floor over the span of her career.

Best Event: Bars, and she's also good at floor

Worst Event: We've only really seen Beth compete on the bars and the floor, we've really never seen Beth All-Around

Year Retired:  2012, right after the Games

Quick Notes: Beth was one of the best British gymnasts, and one of the best bar workers on all time. She has many daring releases in her routine that makes her deserving of all the golds she won.

Reason of Retirement: Beth knew that she couldn't continue in gymnastics forever. The only reason why she kept going after Beijing was so that she could compete in front of a home crowd. She did so, and won a bronze! Beth wanted to end her career on a high note, and she definitely did so.

Her Legacy: I think that Beth started a line of great British bar workers, being followed in that line by gymnasts like Ruby Harrold and Becky Downie.

Daiane Dos Santos: 

Country:  Brazil

Years as Elite: 2004-2012

Biggest Accomplishment: She has gotten two moves named after her on floor, and has scooped up many gold medals in various competitions on the event. She won the World Title in 2003

Best Event: Floor

Worst Event: We've really only seen her on floor, and sometimes on vault. She is not an all-around athlete, but judging by the power she has, the worst event would be bars. But thats just guessing on the power. Power and bars often don't mix, with the exception of Beth Tweddle.

Year Retired: Right after the Games in 2012

Quick Notes: Daiane has two moves named after her on the floor exercised, the double arabian fronts in both pike and layout. It is also to be noted that she won the 2003 World Title on Floor, and in doing so, became the first Brazillian World Champion, and became their best female gymnast.

Reason of Retirement: It was unclear, Dos Santos instantly dropped off the map. It is a little weird because she had a great shot for making the Rio Team, she was pretty much a lock. But If I were to guess, it would be that she just decided she was done. 

Her Legacy: Daiane inspired many Brazillian gymnasts, and left her mark on the gymnastics world as a whole.

Dasha Joura

Country: Australia

Years As Elite: 2001-2012

Biggest Accomplishment: Making the Beijing Team, winning floor at a World Cup

Best Event: She is a good all-arounder but excells at floor

Worst Event: Vault

Year Retired: 2012

Quick Notes: Dasha is known for her bubbly personality and style

Reason of Retirement: It was pretty unclear, but it may be that she had an injury and could not go to London, and decided to retire afterwards.

Her Legacy: Dasha was one of the best Australian Gymnasts in history.

Deng LinLin

Country: China

Years As Elite: 2008-2012

Biggest Accomplishment: 2008 and 2012 Olympian, in 2008 she helped China win their first evver Team title, and in 2012, she won the beam gold medal. She was also the captain of the 2012 Olympic Team.

Best Event: Beam

Worst Event: We really only know Deng as a beam specialist. Her Beam makes you say "Dang Deng!"

Year Retired: 2012

Quick Notes: Deng has been promising on the balance beam since we first saw her in competition in 2004. She was the captain of the 2012 Team because of her experience

Reason of Retirement: Deng ended her stellar career on a high note: She was the Team Captain of Team China, and indivdually, she won beam. That's a great way to wrap up a career!

Her Legacy: Deng continued the line of great beam workers, and regained China's dominance on the event at the Olympics, proving that they are still, beam queens. 

Nastia Liukin

Country: USA

Years As Elite: 2005-2012

Biggest Accomplishment: 2005 Uneven and Balance Beam World Champion 2007 Balance Beam world champion, and of course 2008 Olympic Champion.

Best Event: Bars, she is also good on beam

Worst Event: Vault

Year Retired: 2012 after Trials

Quick Notes: Nastia is known for her exquiste form and style, especially on the uneven bars. She has move named after her on the beam, and in 2010, before her comeback, Nastia got a competition, called the Nastia Liukin Cup, A meet for level 10s. Even though Nastia did not make the 2012 Team, she cannot be disappointed in her career as a gymnast. She has had mass success and can call herself the Queen Of Gymnastics.

Reason Of Retirement: Nastia had a disappointing performance at Classics, face planting on her release move. She knew it was time to retire and go onto other things. But like I said, she can not be disappointed. She has World and Olympic Medals! She has a huge fan base, and is one of the most loved/appreciated gymnasts in history. 

Her Legacy: The legacy that Nastia left was pretty big. So big that I can't even describe it. Nastia inspired so many young gymnasts out there, its incredible. Nastia proved that you don't have to be a World AA Champ to be an Olympic AA. After Shawn came onto the scene, Nastia was pushed into silver, all the time, but she finally did it, she finally won.

These are some of the gymnasts who have left legacies in the sport, in my opinion, as I think of more, they will be added to the list

About Me: Triplewhip

So I have been writing for a year on this blog. And I have got to say, I have loved the whole experience. Its been fun being able to write about gymnastics and having you, the viewers, read about it, read my pieces. Anyway, I figured, I'll tell you a few things about me

1. I fell in love with the sport in 2006, the year Vanny won the AA gold, making history for Italy

2. When I discovered gymnastics, my parents tried to watch it with me but bailed in between 2006 and 2008.

3. In my gym, the coaches suspended flags from the ceiling of all the different countries, I can name a gymnast from almost every one of them

4. I like the color pink

5. I hate bland leotards. The ones with no style like the ones in the olden days just give me nausea.

6. I am a huge fan of Grey's Anatomy, Jane the Virgin, Child Genius. Dance Moms, DWTS, Castle, and Open Heart

7. I'm just a teenager, a normal teenager, who takes tumbling classes.

8. I love leotards. Even though I'm not an actual competitive gymnast, I have a whole drawer of leotards (Coming up on two drawers)

9. My Favorite gymnast is Aly Raisman

10. I want to have a career in a gymnastics related thing. Maybe judging, commentating, or writing for magazines like International Gymnast.

11. Gymnastics is my life, school is just a hobby.

12. I first came up with the idea of starting a blog in 2012, when my parents stopped listening to me about gymnastics, and I needed to vent it out somehow

13. I already have my Team For Rio mapped out.

14. During the summer I swim, hang out with friends, and of course watch gymnastics

15. After starting the gymnastics blog, I had to find ways to keep venting my gymnastics energy, so I signed up for my tumbling class, with girls who know gymnastics, I started an Instagram, username is @doubletwistingdoublelayout. I have a Tumblr @doublelayouthalftwist, and I have a Twitter @themosalto16. And I comment on YouTube Gymnastics Videos. Any other forms would be great, just reccomend them below. 

 So now there are 15 facts about me that you know!

Gymnast of the Day: USA's Chellsie Memmel

When we think about gymnasts getting their start in gymnastics, we typically think of parents putting them in classes because they are always bouncing around the house, climbing on counters, and the parents put them in classes because they dont want them to get hurt. But Chellsie's parents were actually coaches, so she spent time in the gym, with the encouragement of her parents. While Chellsie was bouncing around the gym, Chellsie's parents taught her basic gymnastics. When they saw the promise in Chellsie, they realized that they lacked expertise, and enrolled her in classes with Jim Chudy at Salto Gymnastics at the age of 8. 

Chellsie began competing elite in the year of 2000. In 2003, Chellsie became a senior elite gymnast. She placed in bronze medal position at hte National Podium meet and American Classic. She was then invited to compete at the Pacific Challenge with Canada and Australia. At the Pacific Challenge, she won the all-around, with teammate Carly Patterson right behind her in the silver medal position. 

   At the 2003 Nationals, Chellsie had just conquered a hamstring injury, which, like any injury, had messed with her training time. She made mistakes in her floor routine, causing her to place in tenth in the all-around competition. At the 2003 Worlds Selection Camp, Chellsie made the Pan-Am Team, but not the Worlds Team.  When Worlds came around, many girls on the Team were injured or sick, so Chellsie was chosen to compete on the team. Chellsie was the only girl to compete on all four events in the team finals, and she led her team to their first ever Worlds Gold Medal. Individually, Chellsie won the uneven bars gold medal, but she tied with teammate Hollie Vise. 

  In 2004, Chellsie competed at the American Cup, placing third behind teammates Carly Patterson and Courtney McCool. During the Training Camp in April, Chellsie broke a bone in her foot, and was unable to compete at the 2004 Nationals, or the 2004 Olympic Trials, thusly, not making the Athens Team. She petitioned to the Olympic Selection Camp, but did not perform to the best of her abilities. Marta advised her not to compete on vault and floor, but to focus on bars and beam, her best events. After the sadness of not making the Olympic Team, Chellsie was able to go to the World Cup and win the UB Finals. So there were ups and downs to Chellsie's 2004 season. 

In 2005, Memmel started out her season competing at the American Cup. But she did win uneven bars and placed in 3rd on beam. By the U.S Classic, Chellsie was competing in the all-around again, but placed 4th. She then proceeded to place 2nd at Nationals behind Nastia Liukin. She did qualify to the 2005 Pan-Ams, there, she won the all-around title, and the uneven bars and beam competitions. She was then named to the Worlds Team along with Jana Bieger, Nastia Liukin, and Alicia Sacramone. She won the All-Around Title by just 0.001 over Nastia Liukin. She also took silver medals on bars and beam, both behind teammate Nastia Liukin. The success at the 2005 Worlds inspired Chellsie to go pro, and she gave up her NCAA scholarship eligibility.

    In 2006, Memmel started the year by competing at the Pacific Alliance championships, where she tied for first in AA with Nastia Liukin. Memmel then injured her shoulder while training an overshoot at the Pacific Alliancce Championships. She decided not to compete at the U.S Classic in 2006 so she can recover. Two weeks later, she competed watered down routines at the Nationals, where she placed 4th in the all-around, and she was named to the 2006 World Team. At Worlds, Memmel was still dealing with her shoulder injury, the U.S did well in qualifying, Memmel qualfied first for the all-around finals, and also qualified to the UB and FX finals. In the all-around finals, Chellsie fell off on a Hindroff release in the second rotation. On beam, Chellsie was able to save herself when she landed a front tuck, with one foot off the beam. Unfortunately, the bars fall re-injured her shoulder, tearing it, and withdrew from the floor rotation, as well as the individual event finals. 

   In 2007, Memmel's injury was still haunting her. She competed on floor on day one of the 2007 Nationals. After USA's success at the 2007 Worlds, Memmel was inspired to make her AA comeback. She would make it in the "Good Luck Beijing" Meet. It was considered a test meet for Beijing. The girls would compete on the same apparatus that they would in Beijing the following year. 

In 2008, Memmel made the Olympic Team, but once again, had an injury, so she could only contribute on bars, contributing to the USA team's silver medal finish. Memmel did try to make a comeback for London, but she missed a handstand, putting extreme pressure on her shoulder, ice was applied, and she was out. 

The Fierce Five: Where are they now?

  With only a little over a year until Rio, we look back on the Fierce Five, the five girls representing the USA that won the 2012 Team Gold Medal, being the first to do so since the first ones who did so, the 1996 Team, or, the Magnificent Seven. Anyway, the Fierce Five, consisting of Aly Raisman, Jordyn Wieber, Gabby Douglas, McKayla Maroney, and Kyla Ross. But we need to ask: Where are they now? Are they coming back to the sport that made them famous?

Jordyn Wieber: Tears were shed around the world when 2011 World Champion was eliminated from the all-aroind hunt. Even though she had the extreme honor of being only the second USA team to win gold, but one of the reasons you train for the Games is to win individual gold, which Jordyn did not win. Since she came back from London, she had hinted about making a comeback, but now that we haven't seen her, or have actually heard official news, its time to accept that Jordyn is comfortable with her assistant coaching job at UCLA.

Aly Raisman: Aly left as the most decorated gymnast of Team USA, sweeping the gold medals in the team and floor, and then winning the bronze in the balance beam. Aly took a much-deserved year off, and then came back to Brestyan's, her long time gym, to train for Rio. Aly was supposed to come back at Classics 2014, but as the day loomed closer, Aly's coaches Mihai and Sylvia Brestyan, along with National Team Coordinator Marta Karoyli, decided to push her comeback to 2015. So, now that it is 2015, Aly is slated to compete at the 2015 U.S Classics. Aly has also made the 2015 National Team

Gabby Douglas: Gabby also took a year off after winning team gold, and of course AA Gold. Many did not expect her to win the title, or even break into the all-around, not after the 2011 she had at Nationals, but hse did break into the all-around and she did win the title. Gabby made the 2015 National Team, after a rough few months. Gabby has left the coach that coached her to Olympic Greatness and moved to Buckeye, the gym where the National Champion, on vault and floor, Nia Dennis trains. Gabby also made the 2015 National Team, and like her teammate Aly Raisman, has announced that she will compete at the 2015 Classics. 

Kyla Ross: Kyla was a first year senior in 2012, and she made the Olympic Team. She was chosen for the team for her uneven bars routine, also for her beam.. As happy as Kyla was winning the team gold, she wanted Olympic Individual Success, which fueled her to not quit gymnastics, she didn't even take a year off like Aly or Gabby, she jumped right back into the gym. And in 2013, she won the 2013 U.S Classic,, and at Nationals, she grabbed the silver in the all around, and at Antwerp 2013, she won four silver medals. She then won silver at the U.S Classic in 2014, and Nationals 2014. She took the bronze AA medal at the 2014 Worlds, and then took gold with the team. Kyla has not been herself in 2014, because of a hip injury, and she had to water down her routines even more than she already had.

McKayla Maroney: Like her teammate, Kyla Ross, McKayla Maroney came back in 2013, determined to make the Rio Team because of her fall in  vault finals. McKayla went to Worlds 2013 and won vault gold, defending her World Title from 2011. But unfortunatly, she had to have surgery in 2014, eliminating her from the 2014 season entirely, but Mac is back and she wants vault gold! She is coming back either at the Classics or Nationals. 

  See, 4/5  Fierce Five are back. Which is good, we want to be reminded of their legacy.

A Look Inside Plum Practicewear

  Plum Practicewear......... a leotard brand that has come up and become one of the best. Because of the fact that I actually have a Plum leo, and LOVE IT, I decided to do the first interview of my blog, with them. Plum Practice Wear makes comfortable, cute, tank leotards that make gymnastics practices fun! I have one of my own, the Zany Zebra leotard, and it is TOTALLY my style, and I didn't even have to beg my mom to get me it, because it was so cheap! Finally, it was great not to have an hour long discussion with my mom telling her WHY I need that leotard.

  How Did Plum Get Started? 

We started out as a group of friends with an idea. We wanted to make leos that grabbed your attention... leos that were fun and funky. We also knew from experience that gymnastics is an expensive sport. We thought we could make at least one piece just a bit easier on the parent's pockets. Then we realized that there was something else we wanted to focus on. Some of these gymnasts wear their leotards longer than they wear their street clothes! They train 5 or more hours at a time. Eight hours total per day. We always keep those gymnasts who wear them in mind. I feel personally connected to every gymnast who wears a Plum. Every girl who wears plum is one of "Our Girls".     

How Fun Is It to Work With the Girls at MG Elite and other Gyms? 

Those girls have such a special place in my heart. They are such sweet, kind, humble girls. They are also very funny and FULL of character... which makes them PERFECT Plum Girls. Our photo shoots always require a bit of theatrics and Laurie, Ari, and Jazzy are always ready to bring the perfect amount of comedy and drama to each shoot. They can totally change into whatever character we are wanting them to be... like flipping a switch. It's a gift they have. I'm super blessed to have been welcomed into the MG family. Shooting in their gym is one of my very favorite things to do. They are just astounding athletes. Olivia is still fairly new to Plum.. but fashion is her second passion so the Plum shoots are her "playtime". She has that super girlie, super-cute look, and listens and takes directions really well. When she comes on the set, we are always confident that she can pull off whatever we need. In the gym, she is a FORCE- very intense and focused. She knows what she needs to do, and just does it. 

Let me just say, I am a fan of your Zany Zebra leo (I have one of my own). Do you have anymore of those leos in the works? Leos in general?

Thanks so much!  Fun Fact:  Zany Zebra made it to the 2014 P&Gs.  The MG trio wore it for a workout while they were there. Not for this most recent line, no.  We try to stretch out and do very different things…  You might see a few familiar patterns here and there, but for the most part we love DIFFERENT.  It’s one of the reasons that we do not restock when something sells out.  There are so many fun fabrics out there…  why keep making the same old thing over and over again?  

Can you leak some secrets about your next line of leotards?

Well… the new line comes out this Thursday and we’ve been giving Sneak Peeks since Friday.  There are a few unexpected patterns thrown in (of course!), a few for Valentine’s Day (including what might be my personal favorite) and a couple of show stoppers.  The biggest thing is our 3 Signature Line leos.  These are fabrics that we created out of our icons, logos and trademarked “Chalk It Up” tagline.  We just LOOOOOVE them!!  The rest are just F-U-N!  We have added black training shorts to the mix, which is something that our gymnasts have been asking for. Of course we are already thinking about the next line… and we’ve got some really cool things up our sleeves ;-)

How do you keep such an amazing leotard design company up and running? 

 

It’s a lot of hard work and a lot of communication.  Luckily we are a very high-energy, highly creative bunch.  We keep each other on our toes.  Someone is always coming up with some great new idea and it really revs the rest of us up.  It’s great that it’s not really ever the same person driving the company.

What is the proccess for designing one of your amazing leotards? How long does it generally take?

That’s a really big question.  It all depends.  If we are custom creating a fabric it takes a bit longer.  We work out the graphics and have a test piece made.  If we like it we run with it.  If not, it’s back to the computer and another test piece.  Even with the fabrics that are “ready-to-go” it’s still a process…  One of my favorite parts is deciding on a contrasting trim color.  Many times it’s the trim that can make a leo go from ordinary to WOW!  I would say from concept to photo shoot to web launch it takes about 3 months to push out a new line. Fortunately, all of our products are made locally on the East Coast which helps to speed up the timeline, and minimize our environmental footprint.``

Besides the gymnasts from MG Elite, Do you work with any other elite girls?

We are soooooo very blessed to have begun working with the lovely and amazingly talented Olivia Dunne from ENA Paramus over the past few months.  She is an up and coming new elite… just 12 years old and so much talent.  Her family and coaches Craig and Jenn have been wonderful to work with, just fantastic people.

What's your biggest accomplishment so far?

  This is a really hard question since we have had such an amazing 6 months.  In August, having Plums at the 2014 P&Gs was incredible! MG Elite’s coach, Maggie Haney, decided to have Laurie, Ari and Jazzy wear “Fusion” to the first podium training as well as “Zany Zebra” to a workout session. Shortly after this the brand went “international”. We have products in Holland, Australia, Canada, United Arab Emirates, and the UK to name a few and are in 48 of the 50 states in the US! Also, we love it when orders come in with very high profile names attached to them… and then when those same gymnasts order AGAIN!  This is happening more and more frequently, and it just tells us that we are going in the right direction.  And then those leos start showing up at camp in Texas…WOW!!! But most of all, it’s the every day gymnast that we are trying to give a voice to. These amazing girls send us pics while they are practicing, and we can just see it on their faces how much they love their Plums. In our eyes, every gymnast that purchases our product is a #PlumGirl

How do you make the leotards so comfortable?

We keep it simple. We let our bold, fashionable patterns do the talking so that we can minimize our seams.  We also think about the friction points on the leo… all those little spots that are going to rub.  We make sure that our binding (the fabric that goes around the neck and arm holes) is soft and smooth for maximum comfort there as well.

What differienciates you from other leotard companies like GK? 

Our focus is PRACTICEWEAR. We focus on our gymnasts each and every day, so we don’t think about what the competition is doing… we just know that “fun” and “comfort” is what our gymnasts want and “affordability” is the goal for our parents. Our leos have a fun factor, but are specifically designed for comfort.  Something that we hadn’t planned on, but is becoming viral is the team bonding element of the brand.  We’ve had gymnasts write to us and tell us that they honestly feel that Plum has brought their team closer together.  Gymnasts are talking about which Plums they love… which ones they want to get next. They are planning Plum Twin days!  Sometimes they triplet, sometimes quadruplet… we’ve even had quintuplet picssent to us!  Because of the combination of comfort and style gymnasts are wanting to wear Plums to gym.  Because of our great price point, the parents are able to stock up the Plums their girls want!

What's your biggest goal as a leotard company?

We would like to be a presence in every gym in the nation.  We want Plum to be what you WANT to wear to gym.  Of course, we’d also love to expand our international market as well.

Do you think you'll ever extend to competition leotards? Or will it just be tanks?

I don’t like to say NEVER, but this is our thing.  We are about PRACTICEWEAR…  PracticePerfect® is what gets you there. So, Chalk it Up!®

     I would love to thank Plum for this amazing opportunity. I love their leotards. It just makes gym a little bit easier, not having to fumble with my leotard ALL THE TIME. And even though I only have one Plum, I plan on filling my whole leotard drawer with them (All gymnasts have at least one leotard drawer in their closet, at least I do) Anyway, I am so excited to get my hands on more Plum leotards. And it'll be nice not to argue with my mother again about costs. So all those gymnasts out there, if you don't have a Plum Leotard, get one. And to all the parents, they aren't expensive!!!!!!!! Plum is a leotard comapny that mixes style with comfort. I absolutely loved interviewing Plum as my first interview. Good luck Plum! I hope you get your leotards to gyms across the Nation, and when time comes, around the world.

Team Germany: How are they doing?

   As we know, Team Germany has suffered a major loss, at least in my opinion. And that is loss of the legendary Oksana Chusovitina. Oksana is known for her age, and great vaulting. Oksana Chusovitina is trying for Rio, like every age-eligible elite gymnast in the world, but the thing that differentiates her the most? She will be 41 YEARS OLD! 41??!!!! That is considered ancient in the sport of gymnastics. It is a great accomplishment, not to mention that she set many records in the sport: Getting a vault named after her, becoming one of the only gymnasts to come back after child birth,  and of course, still being a gymnast at 40! Anyway, so with Oksana moving back to Uzbekistan and competing for them, this is considered a blow for Team Germany because of the seasoned gymnast that they lost. Oksana left Germany after London, and sadly, this will mean that Team Germany will lose that great gymnast, and role model for the younger ones, but their gymnastics program isn't totally in the toilet because of some promising juniors that are turning senior before or of the year of 2016, making them age eligible for Rio 2016. But they did lose a great athlete.

Team Australia: Their Events

   One of my favorite teams in gymnastics is Team Australia. I always have loved their style of gymnastics, so lets do a "Their Events" on them, shall we?

Vault: Australia is okay on this event, what they dont do in difficulty, they make up for it in great form, and stuck landings. Sure, the Australian girls only do 1 1/2s, but on those one and a halves, they have killer execution.

Bars: Australia is weaker on this event. They struggle with key details, like handstands and pirouettes, and they dont get as much amplitude on their releases.

Beam: This is where Australia is great, especially Luaren Mitchell. Australians have great difficulty on this event, and its always a great event to watch them on, even though they have uncharacteristic mistakes in qualifications, which ultimately x-ed them otu from the team finals, they are usually a force to be wreckoned with when it comes to this event.

Floor: Australia is great here as well. Everyone with the exception of Lauren Mitchell may not have the best difficulty, but they nail their passes with a jump-out, and they also have great dance and turns and leaps.

   So there are Australia's key events